This graphic from the National Hurricane Center shows the projected path of Tropical Storm Beryl on Sunday

Sandy Nunez
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09 July, 2018, 14:24

Beryl is expected to remain on its current path, crossing the Lesser Antilles on Sunday and the island chain Sunday night, and proceeding near or south of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Monday. according to the NHC.

As Beryl approached, Puerto Rico, a US territory, was still recovering from the devastation of Maria, which struck the island on September 20, 2017, as Category 4 hurricane with maximum wind speeds of 155 miles per hour.

Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit told residents to store water because the government would shut down the water system as a precaution.

Meteorologist Marshall Alexander told The Associated Press that officials were anxious about those living with tarps on their roofs after Maria slammed into Dominica as a Category 5 storm a year ago, killing dozens of people.

Off the U.S. East Coast, Tropical Storm Chris was centered about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph).

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that the storm has barely moved since Saturday but was likely to strengthen in the coming days.

The National Hurricane Center will still be watching this area of showers and thunderstorms as there is a 30% it could redevelop into a tropical system once it moves over the warmer waters near the Bahamas and the upper level wind shear relaxes later this week.

No coastal watches or warnings are in effect, but forecasters say swells along the coasts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states could produce unsafe surf and rip current conditions. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions up and down our coast. Beryl has weakened significantly, meteorologists said, and tropical storm watches have been lifted for Martinique, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Saba, St. Maarten and St. Eustatius. Its maximum sustained wind speeds were at 45 miles per hour. Swells generated by Chris are expected to increase and affect portions of the coasts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states during the next few days.

The same amount, two to three inches, was also expected to fall on the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with up to five inches possible in some areas, through Tuesday.